Product values are evolving incredibly fast
“Brazil is really a white-label country; turnkey solutions haven’t been popular so far, but the latest developments in the market are about to change that,” says Yevhen Krazhan, GR8 Tech CBDO.
Growing demand is evident as the market matures and many insights can be drawn from the experience of other markets that have already gone through this evolution.
GR8 Tech CEO Evgen Belousov notes that the Brazilian market will inevitably encounter high roll and will be forced to find effective ways to deal with it. “There is fierce competition for the audience and huge marketing budgets and, at the same time, very low retention and high churn rate. Players quickly migrate from one operator to another, lured by aggressive marketing. However, the weak link in this strategy is that marketing is always more expensive than retention. That is why retention mechanics are crucial on the product side.”
Just Brazil, with its 200+ million people, has its own specifics: very relaxed pace, a rather low level of English, to mention just a few. It is absolutely wrong to think that you can understand Brazil without being in Brazil
Instead of aggressively wooing the same player a million times through marketing and offering crazy bonuses, local operators should focus on retaining the existing audience building loyalty through personalisation and proven mechanics. Simple but effective free bets, free spins, deposit bonuses and the like, adapted to the Brazilian mentality, can already bring excellent results. Taking this simple strategy one step further, carefully constructed player journeys, like those enabled by GR8 CRM, linking bonus mechanics to various user activities and creating detailed, seamless interaction scenarios, allow keeping the existing large audience engaged with the platform and not wanting to trade it for competitors’ marketing tricks.
At the same time, it’s vital to keep things simple. “Brazil and other Latin American markets are not very mature in terms of understanding and knowing how to use iGaming-related products,” highlights GR8 Tech Senior BDM Thomas Carvalhaes. “At this stage, a simple, intuitive, and easy-to-use technology is paramount in the region. Plus, a key demand for a platform provider is to understand the nuances of the Latin-American region and its markets: we need to remember that there are more than ten markets in LatAm, so it is very important to take localisation into consideration.”
Insider view is a must
Speaking of the importance of localisation, having an insider’s perspective cannot be overstated, especially in a region as diverse as Latin America. No matter how much research companies do and how deeply they dive into local news feeds, there is no substitute for local expertise, which comes only with first-hand experience in the region.
“The macro-region of LatAm is big, and each country is unique,” says Belousov. “Just Brazil, with its 200+ million people, has its own specifics: very relaxed pace, a rather low level of English, to mention just a few. It is absolutely wrong to think that you can understand Brazil without being in Brazil. This is exactly why we at GR8 Tech have our local representative, Thomas, who drives our expansion in the region, providing crucial local perspective.”
Exposure and first-hand insights are important for other team members, as well. Krazhan noticed several prominent features while working at San Paulo’s exhibition – from unique local schedules to business practices. “People are not very work-focused in the morning, but in the afternoon, the activity is even higher than expected. Another interesting aspect is that personal touch and transparency in partnerships are incredibly important for locals. They want to know the people they are doing business with. And it’s absolutely justified since the operators’ business success relies on the right provider.”
Instead of aggressively wooing the same player a million times through marketing and offering crazy bonuses, local operators should focus on retaining the existing audience building loyalty through personalisation and proven mechanics
Next steps for LatAm operators
The region’s markets are still maturing and have a wealth of untapped potential. Local operators understand it very well, eyeing neighboring countries as the logical next steps for their expansion. Brazilians, in particular, are very interested in Peru and Chile. But some already look outside of LatAm for new opportunities. “Many consider Africa the next region for expansion,” notes GR8 Tech’s CBDO.
This promises a new round of exciting opportunities for all who decide to be among the first to conquer new geos, bringing and adapting insights from there to LatAm and thus contributing to the ever-increasing development of this incredibly versatile region.
We can’t wait to see it unfold.
